


Homicidal Maniac

by Maroonedpunk



Category: South Park
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Drug Use, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, I'm terrible at this whole tag thing forgive me, Illegal Activities, M/M, Mental Illness, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-09 19:29:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12895119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maroonedpunk/pseuds/Maroonedpunk
Summary: They called him a homicidal maniac for years.Then came the allegations against the coffee shop.Tweek can't do this by himself.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah so this is the first like, "South Park" related thing I've ever written, and it's taken a while to build up enough courage to go ahead and post it on here. It's going to be three parts and will be a small collection of things influenced by different episodes and other strange, canon things in the town of South Park. I just really like Craig and Tweek and wanted to write something based on them. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Comments are appreciated, I'd love to know how I'm doing :)

Tweek hated working at his parent’s coffee shop.

He had been working there since the fourth grade, and now, a quarter of the way through his junior year, Tweek was getting tired. It had been fun at first, getting to grind beans and taste test new blends that not even his friends got to try. As a nine-year-old, that had been the best thing in the world.

Now, Tweek was stressed beyond all belief. Between all the hours he put in at the coffee shop, the hard bearing load of AP and honors classes, the homework, and the current problems he had going on with his friends, his anxiety was worse than it ever had been. He was more than sure his caffeine addiction didn’t help either.

Growing up really sucked. It took forever for him to convince his parents that he was more than just a spaz, but a kid with actual mental issues. Between trips to the therapist and trips to the psychiatrist and trips to the pediatrician, Tweek was tired out. After a tremendous push from his parents, teachers, and doctors, Tweek was pulled from middle school after only being in the sixth grade for a month. He did online schooling for a few months after that, but it only seemed to make things worse. He couldn’t focus to save his life, his anxiety had somehow increased, and on top of that, he had to up his medication dosage. Tweek had also gotten a strict “talking to” from his parents for taking up too much of their time and spending their money.

After Tweek returned back to school, things were different. People didn’t speak to him. They whispered about how insane he was and how he was nothing but a spaz. Rumors flew around school talking about how Tweek had to go to a mental hospital because he blew up and tried to kill his mom.

And so, Tweek kept his head down. He either didn’t even step foot into the lunchroom altogether or brought his lunch from home and ate in the bathroom. Tweek understood. Those that had been his friends didn’t want to interact with a possible homicidal maniac. The worst part was that Tweek knew he didn’t have the strength to make a claim against it.

With a sigh, Tweek shrugged his bookbag over his shoulders and opened the front door, thermos in hand with freshly brewed coffee calling his name. His parents were over at the coffee shop, helping with the morning rush. They had used to make him help out in the mornings, but after the school counselor had called to talk about Tweek’s poor grades and shaky persona, his parents agreed to let him have that time off.

Closing the door behind him, Tweek took a large gulp of coffee and pulled his jacket tighter around his shoulders. It was the first week of October and already was freezing outside. Tweek fucking hated Colorado.

As he fumbled with his headphones, Tweek glanced across the street as Stan stepped out of his home and tugged his hat further down his ears. He shoved his hands in his pockets and shuffled across his front lawn to Kyle’s house. Tweek sighed. The last time he had even spoken with Kyle or Stan was fifth grade. Despite being neighbors, they had been in a different friend group, and although sometimes they had played together, after the “homicidal maniac” claim, the pair had distanced themselves altogether.

It was awkward living across the street from them, but Tweek learned to deal. He usually walked a good pace behind them, music blaring in his ears so he could completely ignore the fact that the two of them were in front of him.

Tweek waited patiently for Stan and Kyle to start their walk to school before he fell in line behind them, his music on low and his head down. He took slow sips of his coffee and tried to ignore the bitter wind.

Suddenly, Kyle glanced back at him.

Tweek paused his music and slowed down his pace. He tried to calm down his shaking hands and didn’t think about the fact that Stan and Kyle _had_ to be talking about him.

“Dude, why do you keep looking at him?”

Kyle elbowed him. “Stan! Shut up! He’s literally walking right behind us.”

“Nah man, he’s got headphones in. He can’t hear us.”

Kyle looked back at him again. “You sure?”

“Pretty damn sure, dude.”

“Okay.” A sigh. “I’m just, I feel bad for him. We’ve literally been ignoring him since the sixth-grade dude, and he just seems so lonely. Shouldn’t we like, invite him over or something?”

“Kyle, no.” Stan shook his head. Tweek glanced up just a little bit to see that Kyle was still nervously giving him glances. Tweek had always liked Kyle. He was definitely the most innocent out of the friend group and had a good heart deep down. “We don’t need to make things worse. Just, we got like, a year and a half left of high school dude, just let him ride it out.”

“He used to be a good friend of ours--”

“He’s _psycho,_ Kyle,” Stan muttered through gritted teeth. “End of discussion.”

Kyle didn’t reply. Tweek turned his music back on.

-

Tweek tried to get to school a bit early so he could attempt to clean out his locker. He was and always had been a bad hoarder, usually keeping every paper in case he’d ever need it again. So far, he hadn’t needed anything from previous years, but his anxiety wouldn’t let him let go.

He shoved some papers into the bottom of his bookbag. A math test from freshman year that he got a D on, some old English notes, a vocabulary test from middle school, and--

Tweek sucked down a deep breath. He couldn’t help but smile as he ran his fingers over the ripped and wrinkled Yaoi drawing of him and Craig from fifth grade. He forgot he still had this, shoved away after he had transferred all his papers from his middle school locker to his high school one. He and Craig had gone around the school ripping down the pictures when they both had found out what the Asian girls were doing. Tweek didn’t understand it, but in a way, he was in a lot of debt to those girls. They had brought him into a situation that he was forced to assess and solve on his own.

He did, however, remember that week so vividly. Craig Tucker, a boy Tweek had barely interacted with all of elementary school, became his boyfriend, but not... exactly. The two of them weren’t gay and were absolutely humiliated that the entire town thought that they were. Tweek’s parents told him it was good for business, having a gay son. Craig’s father hadn’t been as supportive, which honestly, Tweek never really did find out if that had bothered him. Craig was a soft-spoken, show no emotion kind of guy, whereas Tweek was fueled by neuroticism.

In the end though, tired after countless trips to the principal’s office, constantly having to explain that neither Tweek nor Craig was gay, and all the encouragement by fellow friends and classmates _to_ be gay, the pair had given up. It was far too much work to tell people they weren’t, and so they pretended to date. At first, it had been nothing more than hand holding and video game dates, but soon it became more real. Craig made Tweek feel calm. He didn’t judge him for constantly shaking and twitching or being worried about things many other people would deem stupid. Craig _listened_ to all the things that bothered him, and called him “babe” and “honey” and all kinds of names that made Tweek feel all gushy inside. They had never kissed, since they had been young and inexperienced, but for once in his life, Tweek felt like he had a best friend.

The turning point came the summer before sixth grade, where the two had joined under Cartman’s lead to play superheroes. Craig became Super Craig, Craig of Steel, and his partner in crime, The Amazing Wonder Tweek, had the ability to control the elements. It had been fun, pretending to be someone and something Tweek usually wasn’t. Wonder Tweek was strong, and brave, and normal. With Craig at his side, they would stop all villains who dared to enter South Park.

In fact, Tweek was pretty sure that was the last time the two friend groups had played together happily. Eric Cartman, the group leader, constantly had Stan, Kyle, and Kenny with him. Craig usually hung out with Clyde, Token, and Tweek. They had even included some other kids, like Jimmy, Timmy, and Scott Malkinson. It had been a _blast._

But Eric Cartman was a dick, and a few of them, sick and tired of his constant bossiness and command, decided to start their own superhero group instead. And so, Wonder Tweek and Super Craig separated as Tweek joined Stan, Timmy, Token, and Kenny in becoming The Freedom Pals. It may have been a stupid game, but Tweek and Craig were furious with each other. Tweek had gone on and on about how Wonder Tweek made him feel _important,_ and the fact that Craig hadn’t walked out with him made him furious.

“You’re a fucking traitor!” Craig had pointed accusingly at him. “We were supposed to be one big team, and you fucking traitors all walked out--”

“Because Cartman fucking sucks, dude! How long are you gonna let him boss you around? You fucking suck his dick--”

“Tweek, don’t you fucking dare.” Craig was still pointing at him. “You’re the one being an asshole. All of you are. It was a game, and the five of you are acting like you’re far more superior than us!”

“Uhm, because we are? I’d so much rather take instruction from Timmy or Kenny than stupid Eric Cartman. We’ve known that douchebag our whole lives, and the fact--” Tweek squeezed his fists and let out an unhappy noise. “Nngh, Craig, I can’t deal with this anymore.”

Craig narrowed his eyebrows. “So we break up then. Enough time has passed anyway. I’m sure no one will even care.”

“Okay, then. Then we break up.”

It hadn’t been far long after their breakup that the “homicidal maniac” rumor spread and Tweek was abandoned by all the people that had once been his friend. Craig stung the most, mostly because looking back at it, Tweek realized how stupid that fight was. They had been children pretending to be superheroes and had gotten upset when things didn’t go right. Tweek wanted to apologize, he really did. He felt ridiculous.

But he couldn’t do that now. Far too much time had passed for that.

With a sigh, Tweek shoved the picture into his backpack with the rest of his papers and headed to class.

-

On his way to lunch, Kyle Broflovski stopped Tweek in the hallway and pulled him to the side.

“Hey dude,” he said nervously, pushing the few strands of his red hair back under his hat, “I was uhm, just wondering, if you’d want to sit with me and Stan at lunch.”

Tweek blinked. “You’re joking.”

“No, I promise I’m not. Things just, uhm, well, I thought we could get a chance to talk and stuff, you know?”

A nod. “Uhm, uh, sure, uh, okay.”

Kyle smiled, adjusted the strap of his bag, and led his way to the lunchroom. Stan was sitting with his girlfriend Wendy when Kyle and Tweek sat down. He glared.

“Uhm, Kyle?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I,” he cleared his throat, “speak with you? Please? Privately?”

“Sure.” Kyle patted Tweek gently on the shoulder before stepping out into the hall with Stan. Wendy stared at him curiously, her head tilted.

“Hi, Tweek.”

“Wendy,” he squeaked out. His hands shook under the table. God, he could really go for some coffee right now.

“How are you?”

“Great. How are you?”

She didn’t answer, only nodded and went back to picking at her salad. Tweek fidgeted as he unzipped his lunch box. A few seconds later, Stan and Kyle returned looking exactly the same as they had when they left. Stan glared at Tweek as he slid his arm around Wendy’s shoulders. Kyle flashed a polite smile.

“So Tweek, how’s the coffee business going?”

“It’s alright,” Tweek lied as he pulled his sandwich out of its bag. “It’s been busy, and stuff.”

“That’s cool.”

A shrug. “Yeah, it’s okay.”

“So, uhm, Tweek...” Kyle trailed off as he twisted his fingers together. “I guess, uhm, I don’t exactly know how to phrase this question.”

Tweek scoffed as he set his sandwich down and looked at the three of them. “I’m not a homicidal maniac if that’s your question. I never went to a mental hospital and I never attacked my mother. I did some homeschooling and then came back here.”

“Did they ever find out why you’re such a spaz?” Cartman chimed in as he dropped his lunch tray down onto the table and sat down next to Stan. Kenny joined them on Kyle’s other side.

Kyle glared at him. “Dude, shut the fuck up.”

“Hey, I’m just wondering,” Cartman held his hands up in defense, “because I mean, you gotta admit, you do seem like a homicidal maniac when you’re constantly twitching and randomly screaming.”

“Not cool,” Stan mumbled. Tweek raised his eyebrows in surprise. Stan, defending him? Since when?

“No, it’s f-fine,” Tweek stuttered out. “I’m getting better. You know, take medicine and stuff, and practice trying not to twitch or panic.”

“Oh, so you are a freak.” Cartman barked out a loud laugh. “Who invited this freak to sit at our table?”

“Fuck you, fatass,” Kyle growled. Tweek stood up, causing everyone to look over at him.

“It’s okay. I’ll--nngh--I’ll leave.”

Kyle reached out to grab his arm. “Tweek, no--”

“I appreciate your kindness, but I’m obviously not wanted here, so I’ll go.” Tweek scooped up his lunch and shot out of the cafeteria, but not before he could notice Craig Tucker staring at him. He still had that stupid, ratty blue hat on his head, his dark hair poking out from underneath. Stupid Craig didn’t even blink or look away from Tweek when the blonde boy looked over at him.

Tweek shook his head as he left the lunchroom, stopping by a trash can to throw his lunch away. He had lost his appetite anyway.

-

After school, Tweek went to his parent’s coffee shop to work. Even though he was paid less than minimum wage, and didn’t have much time to do his homework or even sleep, it wasn’t all that bad. In the late afternoon, not many people were coming for coffee, and he got to consume as much as he wanted. Usually, he could squeeze in a few math problems in between customers.

In fact, he was about halfway done with his math homework when the door chimed and in came Craig Tucker.

Tweek immediately panicked and jumped a good five feet back, accidentally knocking over a couple steaming pitchers in the process. They landed loudly on the floor, causing Craig, who happened to be the only customer in the store currently, to raise an eyebrow curiously.

“Dude, calm down.”

“Calm down? You want me to fucking _calm down?”_ Tweek wanted to punch him. How _dare_ he say that after all the shit he’d been through. “Why are you even here?”

Craig showed no emotion, per usual. He was exactly how Tweek remembered him. “You sat with Kyle and Stan today.”

Tweek definitely wasn’t relaxed, but he bent down to retrieve the fallen pitchers and placed them in the sink. “Yeah, so?”

“So, you haven’t sat with them in years, and it obviously didn’t end well.”

“Fuck you, Craig.” Tweek turned around and tried to ignore the dark haired boy. Craig wasn’t letting up that easily.

“I’m just pointing out facts, dude.”

“And you know what?” Tweek flipped back around. “I still fucking hate that. You’ve always known how I feel about you throwing out logic into the fucking equation—"

“Tweek, please.” Craig took a step forward. “I didn’t come here to fight. I just wanted to talk. You know I never believed those rumors, right? I know you’d never try and kill your parents.”

Tweek didn’t reply. He tried to ignore Craig as best he could as he went back to cleaning the counters and trying to distract himself with work.

“You and I know the reason we stopped talking was because of a stupid fight we had when we were ten years old. Can we please talk about this?”

“Why do you suddenly want to talk about it?” Tweek didn’t turn around. He was shaking with anger and was afraid he’d explode. Maybe then Craig would really think he was a homicidal maniac.

“Because dude, I miss you.”

Tweek stopped and gripped the edge of the counter. His right eye twitched and he willed himself to calm down.

“I’ve been stubborn because I didn’t want to admit that I was wrong, that the fight we had was stupid. Then you ended up leaving for a few months, and when you came back, everyone avoided you. I guess I just started conforming, and I shouldn’t have. I feel terrible about that. I’m so sorry, Tweek.”

Finally, he relaxed. Slowly, Tweek turned around, leaned against the counter, and sighed as he crossed his arms. “I’m... I’m sorry too. It was a dumb fight, wasn’t it?”

“I should have walked out with you. Cartman is a dick, and he still is. I honestly don’t even know why I stayed.”

“Because you got more movies.” A small smile rose to Tweek’s lips as he ran a hand through his hair. Craig looked down at the floor and pushed his foot into the ground.

“We were some strange kids, weren’t we?”

“Yeah, for sure.” Craig was smiling now as well. He fished something out of his pocket, revealing the scrap of paper he had taped to his jacket to make him “Super Craig.” The worn out red crayon scrawled lazily inside the S made Tweek almost want to cry.

“You still have it,” he whispered, his smile growing bigger. Craig nodded.

“Of course I do. We were a team, you know.”

“We were a team.” Tweek nodded. He picked the rag back up and began wringing it in his hands. “Craig, when we... do you remember--”

“Are you talking about--”

“Yeah.”

Craig nodded. “Tweek, do you know the proper way to ask for affirmative consent?”

“I think I remember.”

“Oh, good. From now on, every time we get in a fight, it’s nothing but a lover’s quarrel.”

“Right.” Tweek looked down at the counter that he had probably wiped down a billion times by now. “Craig, do you think our relationship like, ever developed into something more?”

Craig dropped down at a table and began playing with the napkin dispenser. It was weird that Craig almost seemed... nervous. The stoic, mellowed out kid who never showed emotion in his life seemed to be displaying one pretty damn strongly at the moment.

“I’m not sure, honestly. Everyone wanted us to be this perfect, gay couple, you know? First off, we were ten. _Ten._ We shouldn’t have been forced to be in something neither one of us wanted to be in.”

“I dunno, I think at first, we were just doing it to make people happy. But I... I think it sorta brought us closer. I wasn’t... I didn’t feel as nervous when I was with you. I felt... safe.”

“Honestly though, I felt the same. We... we did a lot together. A lot of stuff I probably wouldn’t have done if you hadn’t been there. I did like you.”

“I liked you too. I just don’t know if those feelings--”

“Were more than just like.”

“Exactly.” A hushed silence fell over the shop. The door rang as another customer came in. Tweek shot Craig a look as he made the lady her drink and sent her on her way with a large smile. With her disappearance returned the silence.

Craig pulled off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. It stuck up in random directions and made Tweek silently chuckle under his breath. Seeing Craig without his hat on was a rare and wonderful treat. “Tweek, I don’t want us to do the same thing again. I don’t want us to not talk for years on end.”

Tweek shrugged. He still couldn’t believe how calm he was right now. “Then we don’t.”

“You know people are going to think we’re back together again.”

He thought about it, wiped down the counter once more, stole a glance at a hatless Craig. “We can do it in secret,” Tweek offered. “Just on our own time. At school, things can continue to be the same.”

“I don’t care if people think we’re dating again. I’m just wondering if you care.”

Tweek thought about it some more. “No,” he responded after a long pause. “I don’t care because we’ll know what we’re doing. I just don’t want people to think you’re crazy too for hanging out with a quote-unquote, ‘homicidal maniac.’”

“Tweek, do you really think people are going to try and bitch to me? I’ll fuck them up.”

“Right. Sure you will.”

Craig cocked an eyebrow. “Is that... doubt, I hear?”

“Definitely not.” He was still smiling. Tweek couldn’t even remember the last time he had smiled.

“Good.” Craig stood up to walk over to the counter and leaned against it playfully. “I’ll uhm, I gotta go. I just... I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

“Oh.” Tweek felt a blush rising to his cheeks. “Uhm, yeah, sure.”

“Cool.” Craig tapped his fingers on the counter, slid his hat back over his head, and disappeared out the door. Tweek didn’t return to work until Craig was all the way out of sight.

-

The next day, after Tweek has prepared his thermos full of coffee, he opened the front door to see Craig waiting for him at his mailbox. He squeaked loudly and almost dropped his thermos, causing Craig to trudge up his front lawn to help him.

“I’m fine,” Tweek mumbled as he shrugged Craig off of him. Across the street, Kyle and Stan seemed to be whispering. “Why are you here? You live closer to school than I do!”

“I wanted to walk with you,” Craig said softly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out—"

“Well you sure raised the attention of Stan and Kyle, which means they’ll tell Cartman, which means soon the entire fucking school is going to be suspicious—“

“Dude, I thought you were cool with people knowing we were talking again—"

“I am _cool_ with that, man. I just don’t want you to sink lower on the social totem pole.”

“Tweek,” one of Craig’s hands clutched Tweek’s shoulder, “I don’t care about all of that, okay?”

“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Yeah, okay. Sure.”

“So ignore Stan and Kyle and focus on me, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Can I put my arm around your shoulders, or is that too much?” Tweek didn’t answer. He still couldn’t believe this was happening right now. “People are gonna think we’re dating again anyways. As long as you’re comfortable, I’ll keep this thing going, and we can see if like, the feelings are real, or whatever.”

Craig was blushing. Tweek couldn’t believe Craig was _blushing._ “Okay,” Tweek nodded again. If Craig was willing, he’d be okay as well. “Yeah. Go for it. Put on a show, or whatever.”

Craig smiled. It wasn’t very big, but it still managed to put butterflies in Tweek’s stomach. He pulled Tweek close to him, and this time they walked in front, with Kyle and Stan behind them.

-

It wasn’t even noon before most of the school had found out that Craig and Tweek were “back together.” Most were surprised, there were plenty of rumors that Craig was back with Tweek out of pity and plenty more saying that Tweek had somehow brainwashed Craig or threatened to kill him if he didn’t date him again. Craig continued to remind Tweek to “just ignore those fuckers” as best as he could. He tried his hardest to listen to Craig, but things didn’t seem any better. It seemed like Tweek had dragged Craig down into the hole with him.

Craig pulled Tweek down next to him at lunch despite the blonde’s protests. Craig promised he didn’t care, but everyone else at the table did. Clyde and Token glared at him when the pair sat down.

“Craig,” Clyde started, glaring, “are you and Tweek dating again?”

Craig nodded. “Yep. Tweek and I talked things out, didn’t we?” He nudged Tweek’s side, to which Tweek twitched a little and nodded his head rapidly.

“Y-Yeah, everything is just great!”

“So he didn’t force you to date him.” Token narrowed his eyes.

“No, I didn’t fucking force him to date me. What the fuck is wrong with you?” Tweek was surprised that _he_ had said that. He was up now, pointing an accusing finger at Token. “No, I have never killed anyone. I’ve never fucking _attempted_ to kill anyone and I have no intention to kill anyone! I’m so fucking _tired_ of everything! Fuck _all of you!”_

The entire lunchroom was quiet. Tweek realized he had gotten a bit louder than he had planned to when he glanced around the room and noticed that even _Eric Cartman_ was quiet.

Craig stood up and reached for Tweek’s hand. He gripped it supportively and turned to address the lunchroom. “Yeah, Tweek and I are dating again, so if any of you say fucking _anything,_ I will fucking kill you.” Craig sat back down, pulling Tweek down with him. A couple minutes of whispering passed before over the intercom came, “Will Craig Tucker and Tweek Tweak-- that’s his actual name? Oh. Craig Tucker and Tweek Tweak please come to the principal’s office, Craig Tucker and Tweek Tweak please report to the principal’s office."

“Fuck,” Craig muttered under his breath.

-

Tweek had managed to avoid the principal’s office all of high school. He had been there enough in elementary school trying to deal with his principal’s drive to always be “politically correct.” Craig, however, had already visited several times and didn’t seem very bothered by another trip.

The principal sighed as he pushed his glasses further up his nose. “Boys, do you know what the phrase ‘Don’t shout fire in a crowded theatre’ means?”

“Yes,” both boys mumbled.

“What brought you to start shouting at everyone in the cafeteria?”

“Tweek is being bullied,” Craig muttered, folding his arms across his chest.

“Because you two are in a homosexual relationship?”

“What? No!” Craig scowled. “They call--”

“Hold on. Let me call a professional. I’m not quite sure how to deal with... homosexual problems.” He began dialing a phone number, causing both Tweek and Craig to shout out in protest.

“Sir, it isn’t a problem with our sexuality, it’s--”

“Hello? Yes. It’s one of _those_ problems. Huh? Oh. Yeah, actually. Have you--”

The door opened before the principal could finish his sentence, and in came a man that both Tweek and Craig had spoken with far too many times in elementary school. They groaned obnoxiously and sank lower into their seats.

“Hello Craig, Tweek. Great to see you again. Sir, I’ll take it from here.” PC Principal excused the high school principal and sat down at the desk, cracking his knuckles before leaning forward on his elbows. “What seems to be the problem?”

“The problem is that everyone keeps treating Tweek like shit--”

“Boys, you still remember how to properly ask for affirmative consent, right? You say, ‘Craig, may I touch--”

“No, no, we remember,” Tweek panicked, his voice rising with unnecessary hysteria, “Everything is fine. I just got a little bit neurotic and Craig came to my rescue.”

“Ah. So, no lover’s quarrel?”

“No, we weren’t the ones fighting.”

“Why haven’t you talked since the sixth grade? I live in this town. I know just as much as everyone, else. Do you know how upset everyone was? Again?”

The boys shared a look. Craig spoke up. “There were some... complications, but things are fine now. Promise. Can we leave?”

PC Principal peered at them over the top of his sunglasses, studying them, trying to figure out if they were telling the truth. “You know how to properly ask for consent?”

Craig rolled his eyes. “Yes, sir.”

“Tweek, are you okay with the idea of Craig breaking your heart again?”

“He’s not going to.”

“Very well boys. I’m gonna have to call up your parents, and then we’ll send you home with some money, how’s that sound?”

They only groaned in response.

-

Craig came over to Tweek’s house after the fiasco with the principal. Tweek’s parents were both home and seemed to be thrilled that Craig and Tweek were dating once again, even though they really weren’t. Tweek wasn’t about to tell them that, though. They seemed to treat him much better when Craig was around, even saying he could have as much time off as he wanted if he wanted to hang out with Craig instead.

“Your parents are still... interesting,” Craig commented as he sat down on the edge of Tweek’s bed. Tweek shrugged.

“Yeah, I guess. I feel like... I dunno.”

Craig frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I think... I think they’re putting something in the coffee.”

“Woah. Where is this coming from?”

Honestly, it was probably because Tweek was paranoid and hysterical and worried about literally everything. He couldn’t help but think something was wrong with what he was drinking, and not just him, even though he knew that wasn’t the case. Tweek sighed and shook his head. “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Tweek, we can talk about it if you want to.”

“I’m just... confused.” He began pacing back and forth, his hands shaking rapidly at his sides. “It’s been five years since we’ve spoken, five years since I’ve spoken to almost everyone, and I feel like it’s all a joke, that tomorrow is going to be exactly the same as every other fucking day--” He was tugging at his hair and screaming now, his mind spazzing out. Tweek didn’t know what to do.

“Tweek! It’s okay. It’s okay.” Craig reached out to pull him into a hug. He was soft, gentle, and smelled vaguely of cologne and familiarity.  “I promise I’m not going to stop talking to you after today. I know all of this is sudden and there’s a lot going on, but I’m here for you, okay? I promise. And when I make a promise, I keep it.”

Tweek counted to ten as he breathed in, and ten as he breathed out. Craig loosened his hug to look him in the eyes. “How are you feeling?”

“Scared.”

“Why are you scared?”

Tweek knew what Craig was doing, and he couldn’t thank the dark haired boy enough. “I think I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be happy.”

Craig’s face fell. He let go of Tweek’s shoulders and fished the wrinkled “S” out of his jacket pocket. Tweek watched Craig walk over to grab a couple pieces of tape off his desk before he turned around and taped the S to his front.

“I need Wonder Tweek.”

Tweek blinked. Craig cleared his throat.

“I said, I need Wonder Tweek.”

“Oh.” Tweek opened his closet and pulled a small, cardboard box off the shelf, opening it to reveal a treasure trove of old trinkets and papers from his elementary school days. He pulled out the headband, the gloves, the faded “WT,” and turned around to present them to Craig.

Craig stepped forward to slide the headband over Tweek’s wild hair and smoothed it down with a soft hand. He then taped the Wonder Tweek logo to Tweek’s shirt and helped him with the gloves.

“Perfect. We’re the duo we were always meant to be.”

And suddenly, Tweek was crying.

Craig didn’t ask why, just welcomed Tweek with open arms and pulled him close. Craig didn’t speak, which Tweek was thankful for. He wasn’t sure why he was crying. Everything just seemed like so much at the moment.

“It w-was s-such a d-dumb fight,” sobbed Tweek into Craig’s shoulder. “F-Five years g-gone because I was too d-damn stubborn--”

“Don’t blame yourself for all of it. It was just as much my fault.”

Tweek sniffed and sat up. He hiccupped, nodded, and wiped his nose. “I... I want to take a nap.”

“Okay, you can take a nap.” Craig stood up to leave when Tweek called out for him to stop.

“I... I want you to stay. If you want to, of course.”

Craig smiled. He had such a beautiful smile; Tweek wished he did it more. “I’d love to stay.”

“Cool,” said Tweek as he scooted over and pulled the comforter over himself.

“Cool,” Craig repeated as he snuggled up close. “I missed this.”

“Me too.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ft. everyone's favorite redhead.
> 
> Thanks for the comments!

Over the course of a month, Tweek and Craig once again became inseparable. They returned to their video game nights and hand holding and ignored all the strange looks. Although some people had dismissed the ideas that Tweek was, in fact, a “homicidal maniac,” some of the school still tiptoed around him. Fortunately Clyde, Token, and a majority of others at that lunch table were starting to once again warm up to Tweek sitting there with Craig. However, Cartman’s group, with the exception of Kyle, seemed to still be wary of Tweek’s mental state.

That was, until the Tweek Bros. Coffeehouse went under investigation for putting drugs in the ground beans.

Tweek felt sick to his stomach, thinking about how week after week his parents would create a “special blend” for him that no one else was allowed to even touch. Tweek didn’t think his parents were actually putting drugs in all the coffee, just his.

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The twitching, the high levels of paranoia and anxiety, the panic attacks, the fact that whenever he drank coffee that wasn’t his “special blend,” he never quite could drink enough to satisfy his addiction. Maybe it wasn't the caffeine Tweek was addicted to, but the drugs his parents put into it.

Why would his parents want to drug him? Why would they want to make him seem like a spaz and a freak?

He didn’t want to go to school, but it was one of the only ways for him to escape from the tight leash of his parents and for him to see Craig. His parents didn’t want anyone coming over until the situation was taken care of.

Craig met Tweek at his locker as soon as Tweek walked into the building.

“Hey,” Craig said softly. Tweek was more than sure Craig, as well as the rest of the school, knew about the allegations against his parents. News spread fast in South Park. “You doing okay?”

“Not really,” Tweek responded, slamming his locker shut. So much for clearing up the homicidal maniac claims. This just made the situation so much worse. “My parents are in trouble for putting drugs into the grounds, the shop is closed, my parents are going crazy and tightening the fucking leash they have on me, and I kind of want to kill myself.”

Craig blinked, his mouth slightly open, obviously unsure of how to answer. Tweek snorted.

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m fantastic.” He turned to leave, causing Craig to catch up to his pace.

“Tweek--”

“I’m fucked, dude. I thought things were getting better, but they aren’t. Now everyone is definitely going to think I’m fucking crazy--”

“Nobody thinks that, Tweek. If anything, this whole incident would make people feel sorry for you--”

“I don’t want anyone to feel _sorry_ for me. I just want to be normal. I want people to treat me like a normal person and not like some kind of freak.”

Craig didn’t reply. He continued to walk by Tweek’s side, giving Tweek the opportunity to say more if he wanted to. Problem was, Tweek wasn’t even sure what else he could say that Craig didn’t already know.

“I just, too much is going on right now. I’m collapsing.”

“What can I do?”

Tweek shrugged. “There’s not much anyone can do. You seem to be the only person who thinks I’m sane right now.”

“You don’t know that’s true. This just happened this weekend.”

“Rumors spread quickly, Craig,” Tweek said sternly. He adjusted the strap of his bookbag and disappeared into class.

-

It turned out neither Tweek nor Craig was right. Well, Craig might have been sort of right, because there was a few pity looks tossed his way, but most people just ignored him. Kyle kept giving him small smiles, mouthing “is everything okay?” like it actually was. Tweek knew Kyle was only trying to be polite, but it still made Tweek upset. No, everything was not okay. Tweek’s parents were under investigation for putting _drugs_ into their coffee grounds. That was seriously fucked up, and Tweek couldn’t believe he hadn’t recognized that earlier.

At lunch, Clyde seemed nervous as he sat down next to Token and his girlfriend, Nichole. He kept twisting his fingers together and looking up at Tweek for a few seconds at a time the first five minutes of lunch.

Craig grunted. “Clyde, what the fuck are you doing.” It was a question, but in Craig’s monotone voice, it sounded more like a statement. Clyde cleared his throat.

“I’m just, I’m worried because you know, I’ve gotten coffee from Tweek’s coffee shop and--”

“Woah, woah, it isn’t _Tweek’s_ coffee shop, it’s his parents. He had nothing to do with any of this, understand? He is just as much of a victim as anyone else. So I don’t want anyone saying anything bad about Tweek because this is not his fault, got it?”

“Sounds like his fault,” Cartman instigated as he passed by their table. Kyle’s face was already twisting into frustration while Stan just rolled his eyes. Kenny... well, Tweek never could figure out what Kenny was thinking. “I bet you knew your parents were drugging the coffee the whole time, huh spaz?”

“Cartman, lay off.”

Tweek didn’t bother turning around. He didn’t want to deal with Cartman. He knew he wouldn’t win.

“I sure hope none of you drunk coffee from that place. I bet Kenny did. Y’know, cause he probably does drugs anyways.”

“Hey!” Kenny called from the table, pushing the hood of his parka away from his face. He was frowning.

“We don’t actually know if they were putting drugs in the coffee,” Kyle stood up and crossed his arms, “it hasn’t been proven yet. So sit down, fatass.”

“Shut up, you gay Jew. What, is Tweek your new boyfriend? You gonna join them for a threesome?”

“Fuck you, Cartman.” Craig stood up, his fists clenched. “Do you have nothing better to do with your pathetic life than to insult everyone around you?”

Cartman tilted his chin up, trying to look taller, but Craig still beat him by a good few inches. “I have plenty to do, I just point out facts when I see them.”

“That is not you pointing out facts. This is you being a dick.”

“Look dude, if Tweek’s parents are drugging their coffee, that’s something that should be talked about. It could explain why Tweek is so messed up.”

 _He’s right,_ Tweek thought, stealing a glance around the lunchroom. Everyone seemed to be looking either down or away, except for Kyle and Craig. Why _was_ Kyle suddenly defending him? It didn’t make much sense. Maybe Kyle really was just a good guy.

“Tweek isn’t messed up,” Craig started. He was quickly interrupted by Tweek standing up, causing everyone’s focus to turn towards him.

“No, I am messed up. I’m not going to lie and say I’m not. If my parents were putting drugs in the coffee, then I’m sorry on their behalf. I’m pretty sure they were doing it to me as well.”

Clyde’s face softened. “You think your parents were drugging you?”

“Honestly?” Tweek nodded. “I think I’m the only one they were drugging.” And with that, Tweek stood up and walked out of the cafeteria. He could hear footsteps behind him, and assumed it was Craig, but didn’t turn around. The footsteps didn’t stop until Tweek himself stopped in the parking lot.

“Tweek.” Craig’s voice was soft. Tweek pushed the toe of his sneaker into the ground and sucked in a deep breath.

“I need to get out of here. I don’t care if I get in trouble.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Stark’s Pond,” replied Tweek as he finally looked up into Craig’s dark eyes. Craig nodded.

“Let’s go, then.”

-

They sat at the pond, quiet for the first ten minutes of them sitting there. The water was calm, and there wasn’t much of a breeze, making it a lot more pleasurable to be sitting outside.

Craig cleared his throat. “It must have taken a lot for you to do that.”

Tweek scoffed. “What, to walk out of school?”

“Yeah. I know you aren’t one to go against the social norms.”

A sigh. Tweek didn’t reply and instead mashed his fingers together. He was freezing but didn’t want Craig to know that. Craig would start worrying excessively.

“What do you think is going to happen?”

Tweek looked up. Craig’s lips were pressed into a thin frown. “I dunno. I... I want to hope that my parents weren’t doing that, y’know? Like, I want to trust that they weren’t, because that would be absolutely insane and I love them a lot. It’s really hard to just... stop loving your parents.”

“Right,” Craig agreed.

“Part of me though does feel like they weren’t doing something completely legal. I don’t know what part of me that is. My parents... well, my father, I guess...” Tweek trailed off to muster up some more courage and to sneak in a couple deep breaths. “I’ve always been suspicious of my father, even when I was a child. He disappeared to go pick up packages that weren’t from any of our usual suppliers. Maybe he was just picking up like, a special ingredient, I don’t know. I guess he’s innocent until proven guilty.”

“How do you feel about your mom?” Asked Craig, still frowning. He reached out to touch Tweek’s knee. A chill ran down Tweek’s spine, and he was sure it wasn’t because of the cold.

“I don’t know her place in all of this. My parents have always been pretty secretive, always whispering and stuff. Maybe she knew the whole time.”

Craig sighed and sat up straight. He pulled off his hat, ran a hand through his hair, and jammed his hat back over his head. “You’re more than welcome to stay at my place.”

“I know. Unfortunately, my parents won’t let me out of their sight when I step foot into the house.”

A shrug. “Don’t step into the house, then.”

Tweek looked up at Craig, who was still staring intently at him, a frown still plastered on his face. Ever since they had started “dating” again, Tweek had felt... different than when they had previously been together. Sometimes he found himself forgetting that he and Craig weren’t actually dating.

“Hey, Craig?”

“Yep?”

“Do you remember that conversation we had in my bedroom a few months ago? Y’know, when we were talking about hanging out again.”

“Mmhmm.”

“And we talked about trying to figure out if the feelings were... real.”

Craig’s face softened. He scooted a bit closer until their thighs were touching and patted Tweek’s knee again. “I remember.”

“I think...” Tweek’s hands were shaking so bad, he was afraid he’d start involuntarily screaming any second now. Craig seemed to realize this as well and reached to take Tweek’s hands in his.

“Hey.” A small smile rose to his lips. Tweek tilted his chin up a little bit to see Craig’s eyes better. Damn his height. “It’s okay.”

And then, they were kissing. Tweek had never kissed anyone before. It was a bit weird, because he wasn’t sure where to put his hands or what to do with his lips. He sort of just moved them awkwardly, letting Craig do a majority of the work. This went on for about three minutes before Craig pulled back, his brow furrowed in worry.

“Everything okay?”

Tweek felt dizzy. His cheeks were red.

“Hey, Tweek. C’mon, dude.” Craig jiggled his shoulder a little bit, causing Tweek to blink rapidly and shake his head. He began laughing hysterically, and Craig’s worry deepened.

“Dude, what’s wrong? Talk to me.”

“Nothing’s...wrong,” Tweek spit out between laughter, “I just, can’t believe... this just, happened.”

Craig relaxed again. “Looks like the feelings were real then, huh?”

A nod. Tweek clenched his stomach and breathed in deeply. “Oh yeah. Oooooh yeah. Craig, I like you a lot.”

“I like you a lot too, man.”

“For real?”

“For real, for real.”

Tweek pulled Craig into a tight hug before he jumped off the bench and swung his book bag over his shoulder. “I’ll uhm, I’ll see you later, okay? I gotta, uh, go home.”

“Okay. I’ll text you later.”

“Was I uhm, was I okay?”

Craig blinked. “Okay in...” It hit him. “Oh. Yeah, dude, you were great.”

Tweek broke down into another round of giggles and hiccups as he turned away and practically skipped home. Craig _kissed_ him. Craig Tucker fucking _kissed him!!!_

Tweek felt like screaming. There wasn’t a trace of paranoia or anxiety coursing through his veins, only adrenaline, and arousal. Holy fucking shit. Tweek kissed Craig. Tweek _kissed Craig!_

Unfortunately, his excitement didn’t last long, because when he arrived home, his parents were waiting for him with disappointed frowns on their faces.

“Young man, why did we get a call from your school today saying you quote ‘walked out and didn’t return?’”

Yep. It was back. Tweek was shaking again. “Because I--nngh--did.” Great. He was in a heap of trouble now.

“Why?”

“Because I’m freaking out about the whole coffee shop thing.” It was mostly true, he supposed.

His parents relaxed, and his mother took a step forward to envelop him in a hug. “Oh, Tweek, sweetie, everything is going to be okay. Your father and I completely spaced how hard this must be for you right now.”

Tweek shrugged out of his mother’s hug. He had to be strong and face his parents. “Were you guys putting d-drugs in the coffee grounds?”

“Of course we weren’t!” His mother gasped. “It’s nothing more than a rumor. Someone must have tipped off the police as some sort of joke is all. We would never drug our customers.”

“Yes, son.” His father looked determined to convince Tweek to keep his mouth shut. “The police are coming over tonight, and when they do, you need to tell them that we would never do such a thing. You’ve worked there for quite some time, your testimony would mean a lot to our business.”

“Maybe you weren’t drugging the customers. Maybe you were just drugging me.”

His parent’s eyes widened, and his mother choked. There were tears brimming her eyelids. “Tweek, how could you say such a thing?”

“My special blend that I was only allowed to drink, that nobody else was allowed to drink. What was in that?”

“We made it special, just for you sweetheart--”

“What was in it, Mom?”

“That’s enough, Tweek.” His father stepped forward protectively in front of his mother. “Go to your room. You can come out when the police arrive.”

Tweek shook his head before storming up the stairs. He slammed his bedroom door shut, threw his backpack on the ground, and collapsed on his bed. Fuck his parents. Fuck everyone except Craig.

He looked over at his phone willingly, hoping that Craig would somehow know that Tweek wasn’t doing okay. He always felt like he was bothering Craig every time he texted first.

A few minutes passed. Tweek stared at the ceiling and tried to stop fidgeting by jamming his hands underneath his butt.

“Deep breaths,” he whispered to himself, “deep breaths.”

Tweek’s phone buzzed. Immediately he launched himself across the bed to pull his phone into his hands and about exploded when he saw Craig had texted him.

_Everything okay?_

Tweek’s hands were shaking so badly he could barely type. _Police are coming over to ask some questions._

Craig responded right away. Tweek was thankful that he was always punctual. _Are they asking you questions?_

_Yes._

_You’ve got this, Tweek. Deep breaths._

Tweek continued to repeat Craig’s words until the doorbell rang. With one more deep breath and after counting to ten, he told Craig he’d text him later before descending the stairs. Two officers stood in the living room with notepads and pens in hand. Tweek swallowed nervously as he made his way further into the foyer.

“You must be Tweek,” one of the officers spoke, flashing a soft smile, “your parents have agreed to let us ask you guys some questions. We’re going to speak to them first, and then with you, okay?”

“Sure,” Tweek nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. He could feel his right eye twitching.

His parents rounded the corner with a plate of crackers and cheese, large, fake smiles on their faces.

“Here’s some snacks for you two lovely gentlemen,” his mother said politely, sitting down on the sofa and putting her hands on her lap. Tweek’s father remained standing with his arms folded across his chest.

“Thank you, ma’am. If you don’t mind, we’d like to start with you first, Richard.”

“Of course. We can speak in the kitchen.” He ushered the officers back into the kitchen, pausing to get in one last sentence with his wife. “We’re clear, right?”

“Yes sweetheart,” she nodded. Tweek narrowed his eyes but remained silent.

The police spent about twenty minutes speaking with both his parents. Tweek wasn’t quite sure what the officers were asking about, but he knew he wasn’t going to say what his parents wanted him to. In fact, Tweek had already ventured back up to his room to retrieve the “special blend” his parents had made for him every month since he had been nine years old. Tweek was finished. If his parents were doing illegal things to keep the coffeehouse open, then he was going to say something about it. He hated that stupid place anyways.

When it was his turn, Tweek sat down at the kitchen table and took a few more breaths. He could do this. Everything would be okay.

“You don’t need to be nervous, Tweek. You aren’t in any trouble, alright?”

A nod. “Okay.”

“Great. Let’s get started. Now your father mentioned that you have been helping him out at the coffee shop since you were nine?”

“That’s correct.”

“So you’ve seen how the coffee is made, correct?”

“Well, sort of.” Tweek sighed. Here went nothing. “I used to go pick up packages for my dad. He claimed it was the special ingredient that made our coffee stand out from everyone else’s, and I was young, so I didn’t really question it. But now... I don’t know.”

The officers shared a look. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I do think my parents are up to some shifty shit. I don’t know what role my mother plays, but I think she’s a part of it, or at least knows. My father is one hundred percent completely behind it.” Tweek nervously looked behind him to make sure his parents weren’t listening in.

“So you believe the allegations about your parent’s coffee shop is correct.”

“Yeah, I do. And if they weren’t putting it in all the grounds, then I think they were at least putting it in mine.” Tweek paused to pull the small, brown package out of his pocket and slid it across the table. “That’s a special blend my parents made only for me. I’ve been consuming that shit since I was nine, and I think it’s the reason I’m a spaz.”

“You... you think your parents put drugs in here? What for?”

Tweek shrugged. “Maybe it was a way for me to get addicted without realizing it. I couldn’t stand the taste of coffee at first and my parents always wanted me to drink it. Pretty soon, I couldn’t stop. I know what you’re thinking: Maybe it was only a simple caffeine addiction. That’s what I thought too, but then I did some thinking. Whenever I drink coffee that’s not that particular blend, I can never seem to drink enough. And then I thought, what if the shaking, the paranoia, the anxiety, is from withdrawals? I haven’t touched that blend since my parents went under investigation, and I’ve felt worse than I ever have like, ever.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“It could have also been some kind of ploy to get people to buy their shitty coffee. If they saw how addicted I was, then it had to be good, right?” Tweek rolled his eyes. “I don’t know. I just wanted to get that off my chest.”

“We understand, son. We’ll get this to the lab for testing as soon as possible. Thank you for telling us.”

“Just... act like everything is fine, please. I don’t want them to get suspicious.”

They shared another look. “Do you not feel safe here, Tweek?”

“I... I don’t know. I’m not sure. I just, I don’t want my parents to get mad at me.”

“We’ll see what we can do.” After they shook hands, the three of them walked back into the living room, where Tweek’s parents pulled him into a tight hug.

“Did you do what I said?” Whispered his father harshly.

“Yes,” Tweek lied.

“Mr. Tweak, uhm, my partner and I think it might be in the best interest of your son if he were to stay with a friend for the next couple of days. It would be good for him to be in a less stressful environment.”

His parents glared at him. “Is this true, Tweek?” His father asked.

“Your son didn’t say anything about it. This is us suggesting an alternative to the current situation. It’s up to you whether or not you’d like to follow through.” The officer tugged on his hat and cleared his throat while his partner opened the front door. “You guys have a wonderful night.”

The door slammed shut, and Tweek was immediately approached by his father. “You swear you didn’t say anything besides what I told you?”

“Yes, Dad. I didn’t have much to say, anyways.”

“They didn’t spend as much time speaking with you.”

“They had just heard the same exact thing from you and Mom.”

“Okay. You don’t need to be staying with anyone else, Tweek. Things will die down in a few days anyway.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You did great, Tweek. Your mother and I appreciate your help.”

With a small nod, Tweek headed back upstairs to his room.

-

By the end of the week, the police had a warrant to search the Tweek Bros. Coffeehouse. On Saturday, both of Tweek’s parents were taken into custody.

Tweek was beyond freaking out at this point. He had been pulled out of school to help his parents clean up the coffee shop, making it look presentable. He knew his parents were doing a helluva lot to not look suspicious when they claimed they were innocent in the first place.

He stood on the doorstep as he watched his parents get stuffed into the back of a cop car. His hands shook and he tried to keep them in his pockets to avoid having anyone see.

“Hi, Tweek.” It was the same officer that had taken his coffee blend into testing earlier that week. “How are you doing?”

“You found traces of drugs, didn’t you.”

The officer gave a solemn nod. “We found something suspicious, that’s for sure. We’re still doing tests on the rest of the blends. Your neighbors have offered to let you stay with them until things get figured out.”

And that’s how later that day Tweek ended up on the Broflovski’s doorstep with a suitcase full of clothes and his backpack thrown over his shoulder. Mr. Broflovski answered the door with a polite smile. “Hello, Tweek.”

“Uhm--nggh--hello.” His neck twitched as he crossed the threshold and glanced around the living room. Tweek couldn’t even remember the last time he had been inside Kyle’s house.

“We put a mattress in Kyle’s room for you. He’s at Stan’s right now but should be home soon. You just focus on getting comfortable, okay?”

“Sure,” Tweek nodded, still trying to stop his shaking hands. Mr. Broflovski didn’t leave until Tweek promised he would be alright on his own. As soon as he was gone, Tweek dumped his stuff on the mattress with a single blanket on top and looked around Kyle’s bedroom. He felt nervous, like he knew he shouldn’t be doing this, but Tweek was interested. Kyle was a lot different than the young boy he had last spoken to.

On Kyle’s desk, next to his computer, was a picture of them as The Freedom Pals as children. Tweek chuckled a bit as he set the picture down and wandered over to the window. He could see his house, looking dark and sad. Tweek sighed. If his parents went to jail, what the hell would happen to him?

He hadn’t seen Craig all week and had barely spoken to him. Things had been hectic and stressful and not good. Part of him wished things could go back to normal, where he went about his business and no one spoke to him. Then again, that would mean he didn’t get to hang out with Craig anymore either.

No, he wished he could go back to the fourth grade. Things were much simpler back then.

The door opened then, and Tweek stepped back from the window as Kyle and Stan came in laughing. Stan immediately stopped when he noticed Tweek standing there awkwardly.

“Oh. Hi, Tweek. My dad said you weren’t coming until later. Sorry, I would have been here if I had known.”

“Nah, it’s fine.”

“Could I get you something to drink? We probably have some coffee downstairs.”

“That’d be nice, thank you.”

Kyle smiled. “Cool. I’ll go ask my mom how to use the coffee maker. Be right back.” He turned to leave, but not before whispering “You be nice to him, Stan.” Tweek looked down at the ground as his cheeks flushed.

“Uhm,” Stan started, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, “I’m sorry about your parents, dude. That’s really fucked up.”

“Yeah,” Tweek mumbled. “Tell me about it.”

“Did you know?”

“Not exactly. I started getting the feeling, though.”

“I’m sorry, for everything. I was a dick.”

“It’s okay, man. I forgive you. Things were weird.”

“Yeah, well, I still shouldn’t have acted like a douchebag,” Stan rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as Kyle came back into the room.

“Hey Tweek, I got coffee brewing for you downstairs.”

“Cool.”

“I’m gonna head home,” Stan murmured smiling slightly. He took a few steps towards the door. “See you later, Kyle. Bye, Tweek.”

“Bye,” both boys responded as Stan rounded the corner. Kyle turned towards Tweek, a frown on his face. He was observing him. Studying him.

“Do you... uhm, do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really. Did you tell the police I could stay with you?”

“I had mentioned it to my parents. It seemed like the right thing to do.”

Tweek scoffed. “I don’t need your pity, Kyle. I appreciate your kindness in the last couple months, but please don’t be over the top. I can’t handle that right now.”

“But...” Kyle paused, his brow furrowing, “What if they go to jail? Where will you go?”

Shit, Tweek hadn’t even thought about that. He could feel sweat starting to perspire on his hairline. “Oh.”

Kyle’s eyes widened. “Shit dude, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up. Let’s uh, let’s just go downstairs and get you your coffee, okay? Just uh, relax and stuff for now.”

“Sure.” Tweek followed Kyle downstairs to his kitchen, continuing to look around the house. He was still extremely anxious and unsure of what he could do and could not do.

Kyle set down a mug of coffee for Tweek and sat down across from him. Tweek stared.

“You... You okay?”

Tweek slammed his hands down on the table angrily, upset with how Kyle was approaching things. He needed Craig. He needed someone that knew how to calm him down. “How many fucking times are you going to ask me that?”

Kyle’s eyes widened. “I--”

“No. Sorry. I’m just... confused.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know what I can and cannot do, what I can talk about and can’t talk about, what I can touch and cannot touch. There’s just so much going on, and I have so many fucking feelings swirling around my head that I...” Tweek trailed off and shoved his head in his hands. “I’m exactly the same freak that I was in the fourth grade. Cartman is right. I am a spaz, and a freak, and an absolute mess. There’s so much you don’t know about me, Kyle.”

The redhead looked at him for a few seconds, but it wasn’t with the pity or sympathy Kyle had looked at him with in the past. Instead, he seemed understanding. “Tweek, you are our guest here. My parents are pretty chill as it is, and I know they want you to feel as comfortable as possible, so if you have any questions, you can just ask me, okay? As for everything else... well, I know we haven’t talked in awhile, but if you need someone to talk to, I’m here. It’s okay if you have mental health problems. I mean, Stan has depression, and it doesn’t bother me, it’s just a matter of knowing about to be a better friend to them. The fatass is one hundred percent not right. Don’t listen to Cartman. None of us do.”

“Why do you hang out with him? Why do any of you hang out with him?”

“It’s... it’s a long story. I fucking hate Cartman. I think most of us hate Cartman. I’d so much rather hang out with just Kenny and Stan, but somehow, Cartman always finds his way back in.”

“You stayed with him. With Coon and Friends.”

Kyle chuckled. “Yeah. I guess I got a little excited about the possibility of having my own movie. But like I said-- don’t take anything Cartman says seriously. Do you know how many Jew jokes I have to put up with?”

“I’m guessing a lot.”

“Yeah. And it fucking sucks. But I guess there’s a part of me, a part of all of us, that feels bad for him. I don’t think he’d have any friends if we all stopped talking to him. Besides, sometimes, and this is extremely rare, he’s decent.”

Tweek smiled. It was small, but it was a start. Maybe he could develop a friendship with Kyle once more. “Hey, is it okay if I go over to Craig’s?”

“You don’t have to ask, dude! Of course. I’ll probably be at Stan’s house, so if you need me, just let me know. I don’t think I have your phone number.”

“Right. Nngh, here.” They exchanged phones, and after a couple goodbyes, Tweek started the walk down to Craig’s house. So much had happened in the past week, but just to be in Craig’s arms... that would make everything better.

-

They sat up in his room, holding hands. It had only been ten minutes, but Tweek couldn’t find it in himself to speak. He had that burning in his throat and knew he was about to cry. Tweek would turn into a mess if he even so happened to open his mouth to speak.

Craig sighed. He pulled off his hat and scooted closer to Tweek to pull him into a half hug. “I’m so sorry, Tweek.”

Tweek still didn’t say anything. He did, however, reach out to push the hair out of Craig’s face. Craig squeezed his hand. “You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. It’s okay. And I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I promise I’m here for you, whether you need company or someone to talk to. We can figure out everything out together.”

“If they go to jail, I’ll be alone.” Tweek sniffed and buried his head in Craig’s shoulder. Craig smoothed down Tweek’s hair.

“No. We won’t let you be alone. If anything, you can stay with me.”

“You know your parents won’t let me stay here. I’ll probably get shipped off to live with my relatives over in California.”

“California’s nice.”

“No, it’s not nice. I don’t want to leave South Park right now. I don’t want to leave you, and as much as I hate this place, I don’t want to leave everyone else. I’m not ready.” Tweek broke down into sobs. He had tried so hard to be strong, and finally, he was crumbling. This was the Tweek he knew; the freak, the spaz, the mess.

“Hey, shh, it’s okay, love.” Craig continued stroking Tweek’s hair lovingly. “You won’t have to leave. Your friends will make sure—”

“What friends?” Tweek pulled him out of Craig’s arm and sniffed loudly. “You are literally the only friend I have.”

“What about Clyde and Token? What about Kyle?”

“I don’t know.”

“Tweek. You may not realize it, but you _do_ have people who care about you, and we’ll be here to help you when the time comes, okay?”

Another sniff. “Okay.”

Craig softened and pulled the blonde back into his arms. “Do you want your parents to come back?”

“I don’t want them in jail. They weren’t _bad_ parents, just did some stupid things.”

“They put drugs in the coffee they gave you.”

“What do you want me to say, Craig? I still love them. I just can’t stop loving them.”

“Do you think they drugged you?”

“I know they did.”

Craig sighed and his arms tightened around Tweek’s waist. “What are you thinking?”

“The problem is that I’m not thinking. I’m trying to put it off. I don’t _want_ to think about it, and so my stress keeps building and building and building until I explode.”

“I’m sorry. I wish there was more I could do besides sit here.”

“You’re doing enough by just listening. I really appreciate everything you do for me.”

“Of course, dude. I love you.” Craig smiled. Tweek blinked. He couldn’t believe this was happening.

“You... You love me?”

“It was a feeling I couldn’t put my finger on, but it all makes sense now. All I can say is how thankful I am for what happened back in fourth grade.”

Tweek giggled behind his hands before he pulled Craig into a tight hug. “Thank you, Craig. I love you too.”

Craig’s smile grew wider.

-

Tweek didn’t get back over to Kyle’s house until late that night. Being with Craig had definitely calmed him down, but his anxiety spiked once more the second he crossed the threshold.

The Broflovski’s were sitting on the sofa watching television, with Ike nestled in between them. They both looked up as Tweek shut the door quietly behind him.

“Hi, Tweek. Did you have a good time at Craig’s house?”

“Uhm, yeah. Thank you.”

“The police called a little while ago. They wanted you to come in and have tests done.”

“Oh, Jesus.” Tweek tugged on his hair and leaned against the wall. He knew what kind of tests they wanted to do. They wanted to see if they could find traces of drugs in his system, wanted to get the hard evidence they needed to land his parents behind bars.

“Sweetheart, are you okay?” Mrs. Broflovski was at his side in seconds, a large frown on her face. Tweek buried his face in his hands and responded with a series of nervous grunts. “Okay, let’s get you upstairs. Gerald, could you get him a cup of coffee? Kyle said that calms him down--”

“NO!” Tweek screamed, pushing Mrs. Broflovski away from him. His hands shook so bad he couldn’t control them even if he tried. “N-No coffee, p-please.”

“Okay, okay, no coffee. Let’s just get you upstairs, does that sound okay?”

Tweek nodded nervously and let Mrs. Broflovski guide him upstairs to Kyle’s bedroom, where the redhead himself sat typing away at his computer. He frowned when he noticed his mother practically holding Tweek upright.

“Jesus dude, are you okay?”

“Right here Tweek, you’ve got it. Just sit down right here.”

Tweek hiked his knees to his chest and began rocking back and forth. All of this was too much for him. He thought he had been getting better, but Tweek was only getting worse. He thought back to fourth grade, back to when he had spent a good month or two hanging out with Cartman, Kyle, and Stan, and how stressed out he was just _being_ around them, and now here he was staying in Kyle Broflovski’s house because his parents were probably going to _jail--_

“Kyle, go get him a glass of water.”

“Sure thing, Mom.” Kyle disappeared out the door as Mrs. Broflovski began to gently rub his back. She didn’t say anything, only continued to rub circles into his back as softly as she could. Tweek tried to muffle his sobs into his sleeve. He should have never left Craig’s house. He should be over there, spending the night with Craig, not here in fucking _Kyle Broflovski’s house--_

“Here,” Kyle was back; Tweek could tell by the sound of his voice, and there was a quiet exchange between Kyle and his mother before Mrs. Broflovski traded places with Kyle, and Kyle tapped lightly on Tweek’s knuckles. “Drink some water, Tweek. It’ll make you feel better.”

With a deep breath, Tweek pulled his head out of his hands, pushed the wild fluff of hair out of his face, and took the glass of water from Kyle into his shaky hands. He took small sips and didn’t even dare to speak until the entire glass was finished.

Kyle broke the silence first. “Any better?”

Tweek sniffed and wiped at his nose. “Yes. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, dude, it’s okay. Stuff happens.”

“Right.” Tweek scoffed. “Stuff happens.”

“Do you... uhm, do you want to talk about it?”

No, Tweek most definitely did _not_ want to talk about his fucked up mental state with Kyle Broflovski, even though he knew how hard Kyle was trying to be supportive. He really did appreciate that. “Kyle, do you remember those couple of months that I hung out with you, Stan, and Cartman?”

“Sure,” Kyle nodded.

“Those were some of the most stressful days of my life.” He let out a large bellow, something Tweek hadn’t done in God knows how long. It felt good. “It was too much pressure for me to try and be a good friend. For some reason, I wanted to earn your guys’ respect so _badly_ that I stayed and did what I was told despite my mental state. But I guess at that time, I must have been really addicted to... whatever my parents put in the coffee.”

“I always thought you were cool. Stan thought so too, if it means anything.”

“It does. It means a lot.” Tweek sighed and tapped his fingers against the glass. “Thanks, Kyle.”

“Of course, man. I told you I’m here for you. I know we aren’t close, and we haven’t talked in well, you know, but I want things to be different. I... I want us to be friends again.” With a sigh, Kyle moved to pull his hat off his head and tossed it to the side before running his fingers through his hair to try and tame it. “I... well, I used to get ripped on a ton for being too... nice, I guess. Stan and I, we’d do some crazy thing and then I would start to feel bad and feel like I just _had_ to confess. Stan didn’t exactly understand, but I guess I’ve always just had a guilty conscience. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m really, really sorry. What I did, what all of us did, was wrong, and I hope you can forgive me for it.”

“Of course I forgive you. I appreciate you trying.”

Kyle smiled softly and nodded his head. “Cool. Uhm, do you wanna possibly go see a movie together tomorrow? It’ll have to be after synagogue, but I don’t think my parents are going to force you to go with us.”

“Oh. Uhm, sure. Yeah. That would be cool.”

“Awesome.”

Yeah, it was pretty awesome. Slowly but surely, Tweek was starting to have friends again.

Maybe Craig hadn’t been so wrong after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I wanted to get this out early before I headed on a flight back home, so I hope you enjoy! This chapter focuses mostly on Tweek's addiction-- since it's something that doesn't seem to be talked about enough. Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope you'll stick around for my future works! :-)

Tweek had been with the Broflovski’s for almost an entire week now. Only a few tests had revealed that there definitely were traces of meth in Tweek’s blood, which was all the officers needed for prosecution. Tweek honestly wasn’t sure what he was going to do. The police had suggested he’d see a therapist, so that’s what he was doing now. It reminded him all too much of years earlier, when he was more anxious and distressed than he ever had been. 

Now though, Tweek knew it wasn’t just because he was fucked up. There was so much more to his mental illness then he could have ever known.

Tweek and Craig were over at Stark’s Pond again, sitting on a bench with their thighs pressed up against each other. Craig was rubbing circles into the back of Tweek’s hand as they watched the water lap against the muddy shore.

“Craig, they’re going to jail. I just know it.”

“Tweek--”

“No. You know it’s true. They found traces of  _ meth, _ Craig. The whole town knows my parents were buying meth from tweakers and tap dancing  _ Jesus _ this is way too much pressure for me to handle.”

“It’ll be okay, we can figure this out.”

“How?  _ How?  _ My parents are going to prison and I’m going to get shipped to California and never see any of you ever again and--”

“Tweek, Tweek, shh. Calm down.”

“Calm down? You want me to fucking  _ calm down?”  _ Tweek practically jumped off the bench and clenched his fists by his sides. “No. No! I’m not going to calm down!”

“Tweek, look. This is South Park. There’s a chance that your parents may not even go to prison--”

“You don’t know that!”

“You don’t know that they  _ will _ go to prison either. You just need to take a second to think about what you want, okay Tweek? Then we can figure things out from there.”

With a couple of deep breaths, Tweek sat back down on the bench and shoved his head into his hands. “I don’t... want them to go to prison, but they did do a really bad thing.”

“Uhm, yeah. A really bad thing. They  _ drugged  _ you, for years and years and years--”

“Shut up, just shut up!” His fingers dug deep into his hair until his head was burning with pain. “Sorry. I’m sorry.”

Craig didn’t reply. He laced his fingers together and looked at the ground.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do, Craig. I feel like, like a shaken up can of pop just waiting to be opened so my insides can explode all over everybody.”

“Were they putting drugs in all the coffee grounds?”

“I’m not sure. The police hadn’t told me about that yet. I just know that child protective services definitely won’t be letting me stay with them. And so the only reasonable answer is that I’m getting shipped off to California--”

“Dammit Tweek, I’m not going to let that happen! You aren’t getting taken away.” Craig huffed loudly and tugged on his coat. “Even if we have to run away, I’m not letting you go. I just got you back. I just got you  _ back.” _

Tweek pushed the toe of his shoe into the soft mud before looking up at Craig. He had missed Craig a ton, and the fact that they were spending time together again was still unreal to him.

“Craig,” whispered Tweek as he reached out to push Craig’s hat off his head to gently sink his hand into Craig’s hair. It was soft, smooth, and made Tweek feel a bit calmer than he had previously. “I... I don’t want to leave you either.”

“Hey.” He set his hand on Tweek’s hip and smiled. “Can I kiss you again?”

A nod. “Yeah. Yeah, you can.”

-

There was a court date set up for next month. Tweek could barely pull himself out of bed. Or rather, off of the mattress next to Kyle’s bed. He couldn’t function, not knowing that soon both his parents would be in prison and he would soon be all alone. Running away from everything did sound nice, but it also sounded absolutely terrifying; where would they live? How would they eat? And with what money?

Tweek didn’t have much. He had maybe a thousand dollars in savings, which he would fly through probably in less than a month. If Craig had any money, they might be able to last a couple of months, but still, what would happen after that? It would be almost impossible to get a solid job, knowing they just dropped out of high school. No, they couldn’t run away. It just wasn’t reasonable.

Tweek sighed. Since when had he become the logical one? That had always been Craig’s job. Although, Craig was the one who had suggested they run away in the first place. As much as it pained him, Tweek knew he had to face the truth.

He went to go visit his parents where they were being held. Craig was with him, holding his hand tightly. Tweek was sure that Craig’s fingers had no feeling left in them by now, but his presence alone was enough to calm his anxiety.  _ I will not have a panic attack. I will not. _

They sat down at a small table across from Tweek’s mother. The police had told them their conversation was going to be monitored, and also that they couldn’t see both of the Tweaks at the same time. Tweek was fine with that. He actually was on the brink of a panic attack when he thought about confronting his father.

Mrs. Tweak smiled sadly as the boys sat down and lifted up on her handcuffs slightly. “Hi, baby.”

“Mom,” Tweek said, trying to hide all his emotions. Craig squeezed his hand in support underneath the table.

“Tweek, sweetie, I’m so sorry. I had no clue your father was putting drugs in  _ your _ coffee, if I had I would have stopped him immediately.”

“But you knew about him putting drugs in everything else.”

A sigh. “Yes.”

“Why?” Tweek was struggling to remain stoic now. “Why on Earth would you guys do that?”

“People that bought our coffee, they’d keep coming back. You know when that Harbucks opened, we were struggling with business, if our customers were addicted, they’d keep spending money--”

“And you don’t see how fucked up that is?” Tweek never cursed in front of his parents for fear of retaliation but felt it necessary at this point. “That’s not how you get people to come back! You guys are cheaters. You made me work for your corrupt business for so fucking long, and you were fucking drugging me too!”

“Believe me Tweek, I had no idea. We weren’t supposed to drug you, that was what we agreed on--”

Tweek scoffed. “Do you hear yourself right now?”

“Baby, I’m just as upset. I didn’t know he was doing that. You gotta believe me, Tweek, I didn’t know!”

He shook his head. “What part did you play it all of this?”

“I didn’t do anything, your father was the one that handled everything. I only knew about it.”

“That’s not true and you know it. Do you know how many times he sent me out to go pick up packages for him? From people I know realize were meth heads.” Tweek scoffed again, tears rising to his eyes. “You guys drugged me. Your only child, because you wanted better business. I’m fucking addicted to goddamn  _ meth _ because of you guys. Did it never bother you how fucked up I was? The shaking, the paranoia, the panic attacks, everything, was all because of  _ you guys!” _

“Tweek, Mommy loves you very much. Your father is going to prison, but I might be able to get out on bail. My crimes aren’t as severe as his.”

“And you think I want you to come back?”

Her face crumpled. Tears welled. “I love you, Tweek.”

He didn’t believe her. He didn’t believe that his mother had somehow not known that his own father, her  _ husband, _ was putting meth into his coffee grounds.

“I... I’m sorry.” Tweek stood up, pulling Craig up with him, and fled the room, his mother’s sobs still burning in his ears. He was done. 

“Do you want to talk to your dad?” Craig whispered, to which Tweek shook his head rapidly. Definitely not.

Craig informed the officers, who led them out of the police station with solemn head nods. Craig pulled Tweek down onto the bench outside and wrapped his arms tightly around the blonde as Tweek broke down into sobs.

“There, there,” Craig stroked Tweek’s hair softly as he tried to calm his boyfriend down, “we can figure this out, okay? One step at a time. Everything is going to be fine.”

Tweek didn’t reply. Craig continued to comfort him, even calling Clyde to come pick them up so Tweek didn’t have to walk home. Fortunately, Clyde was more than willing, and ten minutes later, Craig had Tweek swaddled on his sofa in four different blankets with a mug of hot chocolate in his hands. Tweek sniffed a few times and looked over at his boyfriend.

“Thank you,” he said hoarsely. Craig nodded.

“Of course, babe. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“N-No, I’ll be okay.” 

Craig flashed a small smile before pressing a kiss to Tweek’s cheek. The doorbell rang then, and Craig stood up to go answer the door.

Tweek couldn’t see who was at the door from where he was currently sitting, but Craig seemed to recognize the visitor. After a quick hug, Craig stepped away from the door, and Kyle and Stan followed behind him.

“Hey Tweek, how are you feeling?” Kyle smiled sympathetically as he sat down where Craig had been sitting only seconds earlier. Stan continued to stand, his hands jammed under his armpits. He kept glancing nervously over at Craig, who towered a good few inches above him.

“I’ve been better,” he murmured, tightening the blanket around his shoulders. Kyle nodded.

“Craig said you were having a panic attack, so we came as fast as we could. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“No, I’m okay. Craig took care of everything.” Tweek smiled at his boyfriend, who stuck his tongue out goofily in an attempt to make Tweek laugh.

“Good. Hey, would you feel better if you stayed with Craig tonight? I can tell my parents.”

Craig nodded, “Yeah, my parents are out of town and Tricia is staying with Karen, so you’re more than welcome.”

“I would love that.”

“Awesome, just text me tomorrow when you’re on your way back. I’ll be with Stan the rest of the night if you need me.”

“Thanks, Kyle.”

“Anytime, man.” After a shared smile, Kyle tugged on Stan’s arm, and they disappeared out the door. Craig turned back towards Tweek and clasped his hands together.

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to order a couple pizzas, we’re gonna put on a movie, and turn this place into a giant blanket fort. Sound good?”

“Sounds great.”

“Awesome. You go upstairs and get all the blankets we’ll need while I go phone the pizza place.” Tweek saluted the dark haired boy before climbing the stairs to Craig’s bedroom. Although he had been here several times before, Tweek couldn’t help but smile. The walls were covered in posters of space and other science things; He paused to look at the poster Craig had of the periodic table.  _ He’s such a nerd,  _ Tweek thought as he began pulling the covers off of the bed.  _ A cute nerd. _

When he descended the stairs into the living room, Craig was sitting two feet in front of the television, his eyes narrowed as he scrolled through the romantic comedy section on Netflix. Tweek scoffed.

“Seriously? Romantic comedies?”

Craig craned his neck and grinned. “Don’t hate! They’ll put us in a good mood. By the way, pizza should be here in thirty. I ordered a pepperoni and a cheese.”

“Perfect,” Tweek responded as he sat down next to Craig on the carpet and dumped the heap of blankets into his lap. “Okay, tell me what to do, captain.”

Craig rolled onto his knees and reached for his comforter. He drapped it across the television and held out the sides with his hands. “We’ll need to get some chairs to hold the top up. Think you could do that, soldier?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Fantastic. I’m gonna go get my mattress for maximum comfort.”

They split off to do their parts, and ten minutes later, the kingdom of maximum comfort was complete. Craig pulled Tweek through the entrance and onto his mattress, draping the same green blanket over his shoulders as before. Tweek looked at him.  _ Really  _ looked at him.

His hair was long and shaggy and fell into his eyes to the point where he was constantly pushing it out of his face. His eyes, bright blue, shined like a thousand diamonds, and he smelled like home-- not literally, because home wasn’t a place Tweek enjoyed, but more like a comfort kind of home. Craig was his comfort. He felt at home when he was with him.

“What?” Asked Craig, tilting his head slightly. He wasn’t wearing his hat, so Tweek reached out to sink his fingers into it.

“I just... I love you. A lot.”

“I love you too.”

“No, like...” Tweek pulled his hand back and sighed. “You put up with me, Craig. Not many people are willing to do that. Just look at everything you’ve done for me today. You helped calm me down, called Kyle so I’d feel more comfortable, built a blanket fort, ordered pizza, put on a movie... I just, you’re so nice.”

“Well of course, Tweek. I’d do anything for you. You’re my best friend and the love of my life.”

“The love of your life.” With a smile, Tweek flopped backward and looked up at the blankets above him. “The love of your life.”

“Uhm, yeah. Tweek? Is everything okay?”

“C’mere,” Tweek commanded, reaching his arms out. Craig laid down next to him and let Tweek pull him close. “I’m just thinking.”

“About what?”

“About us.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. And I... I’m so lucky I have you. Honestly. I know how many times we say that to one another, but I’m serious. I know what life is like without you. I lived in the past five years. Hell, I know what life is like without  _ anybody. _ It fucking sucks, dude. Now my father is going to prison, and even though my mother is still going to be around, just knowing she was also doing illegal things is enough to make me sick of her. What’s even worse is that the town will probably forget in a couple weeks. Hell, the coffee shop may even very well still remain in business. It’s fucked up.”

“It is, but you gotta look at the positives here.”

“Since when are you concerned with the positives?”

“Since I got you back. You made me realize that there are good things in the world.” Tweek’s face softened. Craig continued. “Look, I know you’ll agree with me when I say being a teenager fucking sucks, but I feel like us getting back together, us talking again and realizing that we actually liked each other, made life a whole lot better.”

“Yeah,” Tweek agreed, “It definitely did.”

“Good. I’m glad we both agree.” Craig’s smile grew bigger as he buried his head in Tweek’s neck. “I love you, Tweek. And I mean that.”

Tweek knew he meant it. “I love you too.”

-

The charges against Tweek’s mother were dropped two weeks later, and she was able to go home. Tweek’s father, however, was going to be in prison for quite a while.

Secretly, Tweek was relieved that his dad was no longer going to be around, but there was also a part of him that felt bad for feeling that way. He would always love his father, no matter what, and Tweek felt guilty. He knew how terrible his dad was-- everyone knew that. Tweek was just unable to put every ounce of hate in his body towards his father.

Even though he was no longer with the Broflovski’s, Kyle still checked to make sure Tweek was doing okay. In fact, Kyle and Stan walked with Tweek and Craig to school now. He wished he was still with Kyle’s family. At first, he had felt uncomfortable, but Kyle’s family treated him like he was one of them. He tried to avoid his mother, but she was more clingy than she ever had been before, constantly trying to hug and kiss him. Tweek had never really been one for touch, (unless it was Craig. Craig was okay) and the fact that his mother  _ suddenly  _ wanted to always be around him was giving him extreme amounts of anxiety. It got so bad that Tweek was literally hiding out at Craig’s house and lying that he was staying after to do homework practically every day.

Tweek wasn’t feeling the best either. Now that he knew what his parents had done, knowing he was addicted to fucking  _ meth, _ it was all he could think about. He had to face the facts: 

Tweek Tweak was addicted to meth. 

He didn’t believe his mother. She had to have known. Just that within itself, the fact that she fucking  _ knew _ what his father was doing, disgusted him. He had spent his whole childhood paranoid and hysterical, with the belief that everyone was out to get him. Tweek could have had a normal childhood if his parents weren’t so fucked up.

The horrible thing was that Tweek had actually thought about going to buy meth from the meth heads on the edge of town. His body needed it, craved it, and he felt even worse now that he ever had. His mom hadn’t been the one lacing his coffee with meth, but she very well might have been. How on earth was she allowed to be back at home with him?

Tweek was currently at Craig’s house, curled up in Craig’s bed. Craig was playing with his hair and trying to calm him down.

“It’s not fair,” Tweek had spent the past hour crying, and his eyes were rimmed red and puffy, “How the fuck did she get out of jail? Are the police really that shitty?”

“I mean, it’s South Park, so... yeah. They really are that shitty.”

“Craig, I’m addicted to meth. I thought... I thought that I could just... stay away from it. I stopped drinking coffee altogether in hope that things would get better, but they haven’t. I feel so fucking sick and I don’t know what to do. I...” Tweek gasped a little as he struggled for breath, “I never thought I’d get addicted to drugs in my entire life.”

“Hey, babe. It’ll be okay. We can figure this out together. You already accepted that you’re addicted, which means you’re already trying to get better. You are the strongest, bravest person I’ve ever met.”

“I’m so weak,” Tweek whispered. Craig reached for his hands and pulled him forward so he could look Tweek in the eyes.

“You aren’t weak. None of this is your fault, okay? It’s your parents. Even if your mom knew or not, she is just as guilty as your dad. What they did was fucked up and they deserve to rot for it. You don’t need to worry about them; the only person you need to worry about is yourself. If you don’t think that you can get through this yourself, then we can go looking for others that can help you. Even though your situation isn’t the most normal, they’d still be willing to help. Hell, I can make Clyde take us all the way down to Denver if you need it. I’m here for you, love.”

Tweek was crying again. He pulled Craig into a tight hug and buried his hands in Craig’s sweater. “Thank you,” he hiccuped, “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Craig only hugged him tighter in response.

-

The shop was closed for good, everything inside now belonging to the police. It loomed over everyone that walked by it, dark and dead. Tweek didn’t even want to go near the movie theatre anymore because he’d see the shop and break down into a panic attack.

He had started seeing a therapist again-- it wasn’t much, but it was a start. Tweek’s mother didn’t even know he was doing this. She did, however, know that Tweek wasn’t attending school anymore; he was so sick from the comedown that he could barely even get out of bed.

Craig spent all his free time at Tweek’s side, doing all he could for his boyfriend. Tweek was so thankful for him.

“Here,” Craig came in with a glass of water and handed it to Tweek, who tried to stop his hands from shaking enough not to slosh water over the sides. He sipped it slowly and then set it on his bedside table.

“Craig,” Tweek said weakly, “I... I have to tell you something.”

“Yeah?”

“I want it. I want it so fucking badly.”

Craig sighed as he sat down on the edge of Tweek’s bed and reached out to touch the top of his hand. “I know, babe. I know. But you are so strong, and it’s already been almost a month. You’re doing so well.”

Tweek sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “I think... I think I should go to rehab.”

Craig raised an eyebrow. “Really? Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I know it’ll be scary and nerve-wracking, but I think it would be good for me. I never wanted to get into drugs. And the thing is, I’ve been addicted since I was  _ eight fucking years old. _ It’s going to take a lot of time and effort for me to come off that shit. I’m not strong enough to do this on my own. Even with you, and Kyle, and Stan and Clyde and Token, I’m not strong enough. I need real help.”

“Are you gonna tell your mom?”

A nod. “I have too. I can’t just disappear for a couple of weeks without telling her. Even though I hate her, she’s still my mom, and I’m not an adult. She’d have to be the one to even check me in.”

This time, Craig sighed. “Yeah. I guess that’s true.”

“Even an inpatient program would work. I just... I need help, and I need it now.”

“Okay. Do you want me to talk to your mom?”

“No, I should do it. Will you stay with me when I talk to her?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.” Tweek coughed into the crook of his elbow and settled back down in bed. “Let’s uh, let’s do it tomorrow. You probably have homework you have to do, huh?”

“Nah. I don’t need to worry about it. You’re more important.”

“I don’t want you to fail school.”

“I don’t want you to fail life.”

Tweek snorted. “I already failed life.”

“Hey, that’s not true. That is one hundred  _ percent _ not true.”

A shrug. Tweek started picking at his fingernails.

“Can I kiss you?”

Tweek looked up. “You want to kiss me? Right now?”

“I mean, I always want to kiss you, so yeah. Definitely.”

After a nod of approval, Craig crawled up the bed and settled down on top of Tweek, his hands sliding under Tweek’s tee as he pressed his lips to the blonde’s. Tweek closed his eyes and let himself get lost in Craig’s touch. He had been so fucking  _ stressed  _ lately and had forgotten what his boyfriend could do for him.

Craig moaned softly, causing Tweek to suddenly become too aware of what was going on. Craig had never done  _ that _ before.

He pushed the dark haired boy back a little and looked at him with wide eyes. Craig sucked in a breath and ran a hand through his hair.

“I... sorry.”

“You’ve never done that before.”

“Uhm... no. I guess not.” Craig cleared his throat. “Sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize. I just, I was surprised is all. You must have been, uhm, really enjoying that.”

Craig was blushing. That wasn’t something Tweek got to see every day. “Erhm... yeah. I just... like you. A lot.”

“‘Kay. Keep kissing me, then.”

He was quick to comply. In fact, Tweek suddenly couldn’t get enough of Craig fast enough. Craig’s hands moved underneath the blonde, which sent a chill down his spine. He bucked his hips, causing another moan to leave Craig’s lips.  _ Shit,  _ Tweek thought, pushing up on Craig’s chest,  _ I like that. I like that a lot. _

Sweat started to perspire on his hairline. Holy crap. Were they about to take things to the next base? Was Tweek going to have to take his clothes off? Oh god, was Craig going to see him naked?

Shit. He was panicking again.

Craig noticed this time and pulled away once more, his brows furrowing in worry. “Tweek? What’s wrong?”

“I’m not ready.”

Craig’s face softened. “Oh. That’s okay, babe. We don’t have to go any further than kissing until you’re ready. I don’t want you to feel nervous or pressured.”

“It’s not that. I love you a ton. I just... I can barely look at myself naked, nonetheless, have you see me naked--”

“That’s what you’re worried about? Tweek, I’m not going to judge you for anything. When I say I love you, I mean I love every single part of you from the tip of your toes to the top of your head.”

“I...” Tweek began gnawing on his fingernails, “I just want to be clean first. I want to be clean, and feel better about myself before we do anything.”

Craig nodded sharply. “Of course.”

Tweek smiled. “Thank you, Craig.”

The dark haired boy pressed a kiss to Tweek’s forehead and pushed the hair out of his eyes. “I love you, babe.”

“I love you, too.”

Craig stayed with Tweek all night until the blonde fell asleep, playing with his hair and holding him close. He snuck away in the early hours of the morning, his touch lingering on Tweek’s skin.

-

Tweek woke up around noon the next day to find a note from Craig that read, “I love you, Wonder Tweek,” with Tweek’s old superhero logo carefully etched at the bottom. With a smile, Tweek found the strength to climb out of bed and head to the bathroom with his phone in his hands. Craig had already texted him, saying he would be over after lunch. Tweek was a bit upset that Craig was ditching school to come hang out with him, but then again, Craig  _ was _ hanging out with him, so Tweek didn’t yell at him or anything. Yet, at least.

The smell of coffee wafted through the air when Tweek exited the bathroom, causing him to freeze. Everything came flooding back: the smell of the coffee house, the faces of the men Tweek picked up packages from, the look on his father’s face when he asked if Tweek wanted more coffee.

He dropped to his knees and covered his ears with his hands. No. He had worked far too hard to be ruined now. Why was his mother making coffee in the first place? Where had she gotten it?

Tweek was too busy rocking back and forth to realize that sometime during his mental breakdown, Craig had arrived and had wrapped his arms around the shaking boy. Tweek clung to him like a Koloa, listening to Craig as he attempted to calm him down.

“It’s alright. There, there, everything’s going to be okay. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“The c-coffee. The smell--”

“Oh.  _ Oh.” _ Craig blinked and tightened his grip on Tweek. “You don’t have to be around it. Let’s leave, we can go get breakfast somewhere, go see a movie, do anything--”

“I can barely move.” Tweek began laughing, the tears still streaming down his face. “I’m such a piece of shit--”

“No. No, you aren’t. C’mon, let’s get out of here.” Craig scooped Tweek into his arms and walked down the stairs, readjusting as Tweek moved to gasp at Craig’s hoodie. Mrs. Tweak stopped the boys before they could get through the front door.

“Hello, Craig. I didn’t know you were here.”

Craig looked at Tweek’s mother with dead eyes. “You’re brewing coffee.”

“Yes, I was making some for Tweek--”

“Are you fucking stupid?” Her eyes widened. Even Tweek sucked in a breath. This was completely unlike Craig. Even though he had always been pretty defiant in school, Craig had shown nothing but respect to his boyfriend’s parents. “You and your piece of work husband are the reason Tweek is addicted to meth. Do you not see how brewing coffee could trigger that? He’s been trying so damn  _ hard _ to get it out of his body and you try to ruin everything? What is wrong with you?”

She took a step back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think about it. Tweek, baby--”

“No.” Tweek wriggled around until Craig set him down, to which he then used Craig as support. His entire body ached. “No, Mom. I can’t do this anymore. I need... I need professional help. I need to get all of this crap out of my body and be normal again.

“Okay,” she nodded. “We can do that. We can go to Denver and get you help. I want you to get better Tweek, please believe me. I love you. You’re my only child. If I lost you, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

“How can you live with yourself now?” Craig blurted out before Tweek could stop him. The blonde looked over at him before sighing.

“Mom, I love you. I don’t think I can ever stop loving you. But what you and Dad did...”

“I know.” Tears were dripping down her face. “It was awful. I kept trying to justify it, but it was wrong. It was so wrong, and I can’t apologize enough. But you’ve got to believe me. I honestly did not know that your father was lacing your blend with meth either. If I had, I would have never agreed to any of this. Please, Tweek. I love you.”

Craig looked ready to punch somebody. Tweek reached for his hand before looking back up at his mother. “I want to believe you. I just don’t know if I can yet.”

She nodded. “I understand. I want to help you in any way that I can. What can I do?”

“He wants to go to rehab,” Craig spoke for him. Tweek weakly nodded in agreement.

“Yeah. I do.”

“Okay. Do you want to go now?”

Tweek looked up at Craig, who was already staring at him. His brows were furrowed and tears were in his eyes. Wow. Tweek couldn’t even remember the last time Craig had cried around him. It must have been like, six or seven years ago.

“Yeah, I do.” Craig squeezed his hand. “I need to get better, for myself, for Craig, for you, for everyone else.”

“Okay. I’ll go warm up the car.” Mrs. Tweak disappeared out the door, giving Craig the perfect opportunity to pull Tweek into a hug.

“I love you,” he murmured, “so much. You are so strong, and so brave, and I’ll be counting down every last second until I get to see you again.”

“I’ll be thinking of you,” replied Tweek. He was crying now too. Dammit, Craig. “And I’ll probably be able to call, you know.”

“I know. Hopefully, we can talk like, every day.”

“Yeah. We better.” Tweek forced a smile and leaned forward to press a kiss to Craig’s lips. Craig moved his hands to Tweek’s hips and pulled Tweek back in when the blonde went to pull away.

“Nu-uh,” muttered Craig against Tweek’s lips, causing Tweek to giggle. He wasn’t going to object.

Mrs. Tweak peeked her head in from the front door. “Boys, are you ready?”

Tweek looked at Craig. Felt his hands steady on his hips. Knew how lucky he was.

“Yeah. We’re ready.”

-

Three weeks later, Tweek was released, feeling better than he ever had in his life. Craig was there, waiting for him. Tweek bowed obnoxiously, and burst into laughter when Craig spun him around and swept him in for a kiss.

“I love you so much,” he whispered into Tweek’s ear.

“I love you so much back.”


End file.
